Each league divided into two divisions this year; the Baltimore Orioles won the East Division with 109 wins, then defeated the Twins in the playoffs, before being upset by the Amazing Mets in the World Series. The Orioles had one of the best pitching staffs of the era; their top pitcher this year was Mike Cuellar, who won the Cy Young Award in a tie with Denny McLain. As of 1999 it is the only tie in the Award's history.

         Baltimore's aces were Cuellar and Dave McNally; the Orioles also had a kid named Jim Palmer, who was making a comeback after missing the entire 1968 season with a dead arm. Cuellar and McNally had similar careers; both were lefties, though Cuellar was a master of the screwball. Both had four 20+ win seasons in their careers; McNally had a career record of 184-119, Cuellar was 185-130. Cuellar's career ERA was 3.14, McNally's was 3.24. This was the best year in Cuellar's career, and he deserved the Cy Young Award.
        Denny McLain of the Tigers had another outstanding season. The previous year was his epic 31-win season; this year, the mound was lowered and the strike zone was shrunk, and there were no phenomenal pitching feats. But McLain was still the hardest worker in the league, and led the league in both wins and shutouts, though his ERA was not especially impressive.
        McLain was 25 years old this year; he already had 114 wins under his belt, including 55 in the past two seasons. But he had only 17 more wins left in his career; including only 3 in 1970. McLain was suspended several times for numerous offenses, including gambling and carrying a gun on a team flight. He also fell badly out of shape; traded to the Washington Senators, he lost 22 games in 1971, and his career was over.
        Jim Perry of the Twins finished third in the voting. This was the beginning of a resuscitation of Perry's career, at age 32; after leading the AL in wins in 1960, Perry had spent the last six years splitting time between the bullpen and starting rotation with the Twins. This year, he got a full-time starting assignment, and would win 44 games over the next two seasons.
        Other good candidates include McNally and Andy Messersmith. This was Messersmith's first good year; six years later, he and McNally would become baseball's first ever free agents. But I think Mel Stottlemyre had a better year than either pitcher. Mel was a hard worker and a fine pitcher; this was his third and last 20-win season, though he would continue to pitch well for several more years. Stottlemyre and Perry have similar numbers, except that Stottlemyre threw 40 more inning; I'll give him the edge.